Evans-Roshell Park in Holt area to get $350,000 facelift

Wednesday

Sep 4, 2013 at 12:15 AMSep 4, 2013 at 12:21 AM

An aging park in Holt will be getting new life, thanks to $350,000 from Tuscaloosa County.Evans-Roshell Park, which started as a sandlot that was adopted as a Tuscaloosa County park in 1983, has largely been used for recreational play on its single baseball field and two basketball courts.

By Lydia Seabol AvantStaff Writer | The Tuscaloosa News

An aging park in Holt will be getting new life, thanks to $350,000 from Tuscaloosa County.Evans-Roshell Park, which started as a sandlot that was adopted as a Tuscaloosa County park in 1983, has largely been used for recreational play on its single baseball field and two basketball courts. That will soon change, however, as the county installs a picnic pavilion and splash pad, which is an area with no standing water but typically using fountains or nozzles to spray water. Other improvements include a walking trail around the 4-acre park, new fencing for the baseball field, renovated restrooms and expanded parking, said Commissioner Jerry Tingle, who represents the eastern part of the county, including Holt.“The park has been around for a long time, and it's not used very much, and part of the reason is because it's not user friendly,” Tingle said. “I don't think the lights have been turned on at the baseball field in eight or 10 years.”With the splash pad and other improvements, however, Tingle said he's hopeful the area will attract more children and families. There is no other Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority park in the Holt area.“We are just going to keep pushing forward with our county projects and get things out there that the kids really need and the families need,” Tingle said. Construction crews have already cleared some brush on the site, said Gary Minor, PARA executive director. Renovation of the bathrooms will be next, Minor said. Construction on the park is expected to be completed by spring, he said. “We are still in the planning phase as far as engineer drawings, but PARA is doing some of the little things right now,” Minor said. “It won't be a long project. It will be complete by late spring next year.”One of the things that Tingle said he'd like to see at the site is a playground, but it's not in the intial plan, Minor said, and will take more funding. Tingle said he's confident he can get the additional money for the project to come to fruition. “If we can't do it all the way that I'm outlining, I'll go back and get more money because Holt has been left behind,” Tingle said. “There's nothing else in the Holt area.”